Budget Provides Relief for Workers, Savers, and Drinkers

Giles McNeill, Conservative West Lindsey District Councillor for the Nettleham Ward, has welcomed a the announcements in the 2014 budget statement today which will save money for local residents.

George Osbourne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Earners will find the personal tax allowance will rise to £10,500 from April 2015, cutting taxes for 25 million people and taking an additional 290,000 people out of paying income tax altogether. The rises in the personal allowance since 2010, implemented by the Coalition Government, mean that by April next year a typical, basic rate, taxpayer will be paying £805 less in tax than they would have been, with 3,200,000 people taken out of income tax altogether. The 2014 Budget measures do not result in any additional higher rate taxpayers. The full benefit will be passed on to higher rate taxpayers – everyone earning up to £100,000 will gain equally and will pay less tax because of this tax cut.

Meanwhile, savers will benefit from merging the cash ISA and stocks & shares ISA into a single New ISA with an annual limit of £15,000. Over 400,000 ISA holders in the East Midlands could benefit from the New ISA. Savers will also be glad to hear the ten pence starting rate of tax for savings income will be eliminated and, this zero rate will be extended to the first £5,000 of savings income, benefiting 1.5 million low-income savers.

In the biggest reform of pensions taxation in a century, the Chancellor announced that no one would be forced to buy an annuity if they don’t want to and there will be no punitive fifty per cent tax rate if you try and take more than your tax free lump sum.

Drinkers will find savings as the tax on beer will be cut by a penny a pint, helping local pubs. Duties on Scotch whisky and other spirits will be frozen, as will duty on ordinary cider. The duty escalator for wine, meanwhile, has been abolished. Cllr. McNeill said:

"The budget contains real measures that are designed to help people across the country with their cost of living. Those in work will take home more of their pay, with the increase in the personal allowance. Those who save will find their hard-erned savings will be taxed less. The duty paid on beer has been cut by a penny on the pint for the second year running.  

"Whilst the economic situation is beginning to show real signs of improvement, the parlous state of the nation's finances - the legacy of the last Labour Government - mean that the Chancellor has and will continue to make the difficult decisions which benefit hard-working people across Britain and contribute to the long-term economic viability."

Councillor Calls for Supermarket Booze Ban

The Lincolnshire Echo is reporting that alcohol should be removed from supermarket shelves in Lincolnshire to help prevent alcohol abuse, a senior Conservative county councillor has claimed.

Cllr. Mrs. Christine Talbot, Conservative (Bracebridge Heath & Waddington) believes a pilot scheme should be tested by supermarkets to see what impact taking booze out of stores would have on drinking habits within the county.

The paper reports that the County Council member has said her personal vision for the next ten years would also include raising the age limit to purchase alcohol from 18 to 21.

Cllr. Mrs. Talbot told the Lincolnshire Echo that action is needed to be taken to change the drinking culture which had developed in recent years.

Cllr. Mrs. Talbot is reported as saying:

"The average adult would go and buy a bottle of wine for the occasion, not buy wine with your shopping. I know it's cheaper to do both but sometimes when you are in the supermarket there is more wine than alcohol."

Cllr. Mrs. Talbot said she was concerned about the trend of 'pre-loading', which involves people drinking large quantities of alcohol at home before going out into pubs and clubs. She added it would be interesting to see if business in pubs improved as a result of any supermarket ban.

"Supermarkets could remove alcohol for a pilot scheme for six months and see how it affected sales.

"I think people would be in uproar and say it is unfair to do this to people who drink responsibly, while others might see it as a good idea."

The Lincolnshire Health Scrutiny Committee, of which Cllr. Mrs. Talbot is Chairman, decided on Wednesday to examine what programmes existed within the county to tackle alcohol abuse and how to understand the contrasting problems between rural and urban areas.
The review is expected to take between six to eight months.

Breakfast Wines

Champagne, historically, is the only alcoholic beverage you can drink for breakfast and people won't look sideways at you.

Does this mean that all other wines – and for that matter spirits – are forbidden before lunch?

A few weeks ago now I enjoyed plum bread, lightly toasted, with marcarpone, maple cure bacon and maple syrup and a Matusalem chaser for my breakfast.

Why should we not be able to enjoy a refreshing glass of Beaujolais to complement the bacon and eggs? Or a little Banyuls with the croissant and strawberry jam?

I am not suggesting that you need a belt of Bourbon (my favourite is Woodford Reserve) to kick-start the morning, but a little alcohol with breakfast can be a restoring and invigorating experience. In the Cognac region, home to some of France's longest-lived citizens, a farmer's breakfast will start with a glass of orange juice mixed with cognac. And the Italians, known for their zest for life is the envy of other nations, correct their morning espresso with grappa.

The champagne breakfast is an established gastronomic tradition - and a personal favourite - although a their are those who believe that champagne by itself is breakfast enough. They probably subscribe to the sentiments of Alain de Vogüé, a former director of Veuve Clicquot. Who was once asked when was the best time to drink champagne. His reply: 'Before, during and after.'

To my mind only the British truely understand breakfast, first of all, breakfast has to be cooked. It has to be substantial to set you up for the rigours of the day. Now, the pH of wine is about the same as the pH of our stomach acid, which should mean that wine aids in your digesting process. So my view would be that if you believe in a hearty breakfast, think about serving some wine to help ward off indigestion.

In my opinion nothing starts the day more properly than smoked salmon, savoy eggs, a wholemeal english muffin followed by pancakes with maple syrup and bacon served with a bottle of Laurent-Perrier Cuvee Rose Brut.

Personally, I think it is a sin to mix champagne with orange juice or anything else – a blasphemy for which perpetrators will have to face the wrath of Dionysus on the day of judgement. However, if you are foolhardy enough to transgress in this direction you might try grapefruit juice instead of orange juice or peach juice. But a warning: don't brush your teeth before you have champagne for breakfast. Colgate does nothing for Krug.

For those who are concerned about alcohol in the morning I have this advice: go for German Riesling from the Mosel. These wines can be as low as seven and a half percent alcohol and they will wake up your taste buds like nothing else.

Alternatively you can use wine in preparing your breakfast. Heating wine or spirits drives off the alcohol and you're left with the flavour. The Burgundians make a dish of eggs poached in Beaujolais. Once you got past the colour they are delicious and perhaps as a Chritmas treat why not have French toast made using egg nog instead of eggs and milk?

Other possibilities could include: Silvaner with ham quiche, dry Muscat with fresh fruit, Gewurztraminer with bagels and lox, Pinot Blanc with a cheese omelet.

Leave your options open. You never know what might work.

Lincolnshire’s pubs being ripped off in tax inspectors’ cover-up

Government hides admission that pubs are paying too much in rates

Local pubs in Lincolnshire are being denied business rate cuts by the Government, Giles McNeill, Prospective Conservative Candidate for Lincolnshire County Council in the Nettleham & Saxilby Division, warned today. Pub landords could be paying thousands of pounds over the odds in tax, but are being kept in the dark by Government tax inspectors who want to avoid paying out tax refunds.

This follows a revelation earlier this year that tax inspectors were hiding the fact that hundreds of thousands of homes could be paying too much council tax. The tax officials kept quiet about the information to save money and save face.

• Five pubs closing every day: The British Beer & Pub Association has estimated that pubs are now closing at the rate of 36 a week - five a day. They are paying a heavy price for smoking ban, fragile consumer confidence, ruthless competition from supermarkets and – not least – higher beer taxes imposed by Gordon Brown.

• Government guidance on taxing pubs: Parliamentary Questions have brought to light unpublished internal guidance by the Valuation Office Agency (an arm of HM Revenue & Customs) on how local firms should be charged business rates. It admits that they have been giving out the wrong advice to firms on the effect of the smoking ban. Until recently, tax inspectors refused to give any business rate reduction for the loss of custom due to the ban. Their latest guidance now admits – thanks to advice from top lawyers – that the smoking ban represents a ‘material change’. Pubs can use this to make a claim for a lower ‘rateable value’ and so cut their yearly rates bill. For example, a £5,000 reduction in rateable value would save publicans £2,300 a year in tax.

• Local firms kept in the dark: Pubs can only apply for this tax cut if they make an appeal and fill out complex paperwork. The Government has made no announcement about potential refunds to local pubs across England and Wales. The Government is happy to hike tax bills, but it will not tell people when their bills could fall. Business rates are the third biggest cost to local firms after rent and staff costs.

Giles said:

“Local pubs in the villages that comprise the Nettleham & Saxilby Division are a vital part of our social fabric and community life. Whilst big pub chains may be making money out of Labour’s new drinking laws, small everyday pubs are suffering from the combined onslaught of higher beer taxes, a weakening economy, supermarkets selling alcohol below cost price and the smoking ban.

“Whatever people’s views on the smoking ban, it has had a major impact on many pubs. The Government’s own tax inspectors have now admitted that pubs may be eligible for refunds on their business rates, but local pub owners are being intentionally kept in the dark about this U-turn. This is yet another tax cover-up from the same inspectors who have conspired to hide council tax errors.

“Ministers are only interested in changing the tax system when it raises extra money for Gordon Brown’s coffers. Thanks to Whitehall secrecy and this stealth pub tax, local firms are going to the wall and everyday pub-goers are being hit in the wallet.”

New figures expose harmful effect of binge and under-age drinking

Alcohol misuse fuelling yob behaviour and hospital admissions soar

Giles McNeill, Nettleham Parish Councillor, this week expressed his concern over new official figures that have revealed a soaring number of hospital admissions due to alcohol misuse, and the effect of alcohol in pushing up crime and disorder.

According to research by the NHS Information Centre:

· The number of admissions to NHS hospital due to alcohol has soared by 52 per cent over the last decade.
· 1 in 10 of all these incidents now involves those under 18 – the legal drinking age.

· Across the East Midlands, there were16,016 hospital admissions due to alcohol last year.

· 1 in 3 of all 15 year olds think it is acceptable to get drunk at least once a week.

· Half of all violent attacks are committed by those under the influence of alcohol.

Growing alcohol misuse has coincided with new 24 hour licensing laws imposed by the Government, and a failure to enforce effectively the laws, which exist against under-age drinking. The Government has also raided budgets for the promotion of healthy living to meet NHS deficits.

Giles McNeill said:

“There’s nothing wrong with adults having a good night out, but under-age and binge drinking fuels crime and anti-social behaviour. Labour Ministers talk endlessly about cracking down on alcohol-related violence, but these new figures expose Gordon Brown’s complacency and the knock-on effect on the NHS.

“The Labour Government’s failure to enforce the law sends totally the wrong message about under-age drinking. We need greater social responsibility, more powers for local communities over licensing, and an end to some parents turning a blind eye to their children’s drinking.”

Growing concern over spread of under-age binge drinking across Lincolnshire

New figures show children at harm, with drink fuelling yob behaviour

Giles McNeill, Nettleham Parish Councillor, today expressed his concern about official figures which have revealed not only a growing number of under-age drinkers are being admitted to hospital, but also that the laws against under-age drinking are not being properly enforced.


This disturbing news coincides with the report from Crime Concern which has found that “drinking to get drunk is starting younger with serious consequences to health and crime”. Almost four in ten young people now start drinking at the age of 13, and half of their parents turning a blind eye.

· Figures – unearthed by the Conservatives in Parliament – reveal that under-age children who break the law by buying alcohol illegally are not being held to account. Fewer than a hundred individuals a year are punished for trying to buy alcohol illegally.

· What is more, a growing number of children are now being hospitalised after being admitted to A&E due to alcohol misuse, with 518 incidents across the East Midlands Stategic Health Authority last year. Across the country a whole, there has been an increase of 40 per cent since 2000.

Giles McNeill said:

“Under-age drinking harms young people and fuels youth crime and anti-social behaviour. Labour Ministers talk endlessly about cracking down on alcohol-related violence, but these new figures expose the Government’s complacency.

“There are already laws and sanctions in place. The Government’s failure to enforce the law sends totally the wrong message about under-age drinking and is adding to public concern about yob behaviour and crime. We also need greater social responsibility, and an end to some parents turning a blind eye to their children’s drinking. Increasing social responsibility is at the heart of David Cameron’s plans to make Britain safer and stonger.”